Davis's investment vehicle X2 Resources values Vale's nickel
business at $5 billion to $7 billion, Bloomberg said, citing two
people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations
are private. (bloom.bg/1wbhfuQ)

X2 has raised about $4.8 billion from equity investors
including Asia's Noble Group Ltd, private equity fund
TPG Capital and sovereign wealth and pension funds to create a
mid-tier mining company and has been hunting for assets to buy
from miners such as Vale, BHP Billiton Ltd and Anglo
American Plc, Bloomberg said.

"We have not received any proposal or held any talks with X2
about our nickel assets," a Vale spokeswoman told Reuters. X2
Resources spokesman Michael Oke declined to comment on the
Bloomberg report.

Vale, the world's second-largest producer of nickel, said in
December it was considering an initial public offering of 30 to
40 percent of its base metals division by August, because the
unit was undervalued by the market.

Chief Financial Officer Luciano Siani later told Reuters
that a listing hinges on a 20 percent rally in nickel prices.

Siani said the unit could be worth $30 billion-$35 billion,
if nickel prices touched $21,000 per tonne and copper $6,600 per
tonne next year.

Since then benchmark nickel on the London Metal
Exchange had fallen about 14 percent up to Tuesday's close of
14,650 per tonne.